You want your loved one with Alzheimer's Disease or related dementias (ADRD) to be cared for at home by someone experienced in meeting their needs, right?  Someone trained specifically to care for those with dementia.  Of course!

But does experience really mean that home caregivers are offering the care that's truly right for people with such diseases?  All too often, the answer is: NO.  Caring for dementia patients is specialized and requires training for a set of skills all-too-often missing in the homecare setting.

Did you know that dementia-specific training is not included in home health aide or nursing assistant certifications? "While many home care aides have experience with dementia patients, few are actually adequately equipped to do so," said Deborah Bier, PhD, the director of Caring Companion Home Care's metrowest Boston, MA office located in Concord, MA. "As a result, many don't know or use the best, most proven approaches -- the very ones that dementia patients and their families most benefit from."  The result can be challenging behaviors difficult or even impossible to manage in the home setting. But proper training for homecare workers can help make the difference between patients being able to stay comfortably (and less expensively) at home or being institutionalized.

The Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA) of the Commonwealth and the Massachusetts Alzheimer’s Association are doing something about this widespread gap in proper dementia training.  Via a federal grant, they are providing an ADRD curriculum for caregivers, of which Dr. Bier was among the first in the Commonwealth to be certified to deliver.  This training also makes her eligible to provide state-funded or private Alzheimer’s coaching services to families, and to train home care aides in the specialized skills needed to work with dementia clients served by the state.

Deborah holds a doctoral degree in therapeutic counseling, and has additional specialized training in family and geriatric issues. She has spent over 20 years in private practice working with individuals of all ages with significant or chronic physical and/or psychological illness and their families. Her two years with Caring Companion and this certification, as well as additional dementia training with StilMee, have furthered her experience and skill working with ADRD.

DEMENTIA TRAINED CAREGIVERS. While Caring Companion has already been providing a significant level of Alzheimer's-specific training and ongoing coaching to their caregivers, they will be able to expand their in-house training offerings.  "Now having an approved standard of competency means that our training can rise to this expected level of excellence," said Jim Reynolds, CEO of Caring Companion Home Care. "We already offer some of the best-trained dementia homecare workers in the Commonwealth, and now they will be even better prepared."

DEMENTIA COUNSELING FOR FAMILIES. A new or suspected diagnosis of ADRD is a big upset for a family, and the learning curve can be steep when it comes to figuring out next steps. Is my loved one safe? Why do they act like they do? What can we expect of the disease as it progresses? How can we deal with their puzzling, difficult behaviors? Dr. Bier can help families answer these questions and more with new one-on-one family counseling sessions. Look for more information about this to come soon on this blog.

Graphic, bottom, right: Alzheimer's Association.